


So Long Saudade

by Zappy



Series: Time for Salvation [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fix-It, Happy Ending, M/M, mix of fluff and hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 02:45:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13940928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zappy/pseuds/Zappy
Summary: Saudade; PortugueseSaudade refers to the feeling of longing for something or someone that you love which is lost. This feeling of emptiness, melancholy or nostalgia is often considered characteristic of the Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese temperament, although it also entered Galician Spanish with the same spelling. It carries with it the repressed knowledge that the object of longing may never return and was once described as "the love that remains" after someone is gone. It is a bittersweet, empty feeling of something or someone that is missing.





	So Long Saudade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Steerpike13713](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steerpike13713/gifts).



> I have seen a _startling_ lack of ways to save Len from the fate of the Oculus. So I decided to make it myself, this is one of three ideas I had for how to save Leonard Snart. This first one is a gift to my dear Cat, who helped me work the kinks out of my ideas and urged me to write them.
> 
> Takes place during the episodes "Infantino Street" and "Finish Line" of season 3 on the Flash

Things were fragmented. Images and sounds and feelings would flash by, gone before he’d even register it or be able to place it. Sometimes he could remember what had happened, could feel the metal of the switch beneath his palm, the heat of the Oculus, the soft sounds of what was almost a waterfall of time, watching as those he cared about fled, safe after today, after back then, after about-to-be.

Time was a river to be sailed upon. Time was an ocean to drown in.

He’d never drowned before, or maybe he always was. Sensation didn’t quite work, but he felt both vaster than the universe and smaller than an atom. It felt like there was a roar in his ears that never ended but hadn’t quite started.

His next breath- _his last breath_ \- just a second, _an eternity_ , later was jagged and coughing. Everything was spinning and he felt dizzy and that roar in his ears had turned into a shrill ringing and then he felt a gloved hand to his face. Oh, he had one of those again.

Slowly he registered that he could see, that there were things to _be_ seen, and almost couldn’t place what he saw.

“Scarlet?”

Half of a face smiled and hazel eyes shone at him behind that ridiculous red leather getup. The lightning bolts on the sides of his head seemed to be bigger though. And was he remembering wrong, but had he always looked so-

“Heya, Len. I think it’s been a while for you.”

Old?

He had to take a moment, his head was pounding. “Since when do you call me Len?” Then what he’d noticed caught up with his brain, “How long’s it been, Scarlet- for you to look _my_ age?”

“Like I said, it’s been a while. Not for me though, I just saw you.” Barry replied with another beaming smile and Len was starting to get his bearings now. There were lines on Barry’s face, laugh lines and age lines alike, and was that a scar just hidden under his mask?

“Aren’t you seeing me now, or is this an afterlife thing?”

“You’re not dead, Lenny. You were just...lost for a bit. Took me forever to figure out how to find you, you didn’t exactly make it easy for me.”

“Since when have you ever expected _easy_ from me, Barry?” The laugh that followed Len’s quip helped ease his throbbing head and Len just closed his eyes for a moment of rest.

Moment over. Snapping open his eyes, he finally looked around outside of just Barry. They were...in a forest somewhere, and it was odd enough that everything came rushing back to him. The Time Masters, Mick, Sara, the team-

“What happened? Is everyone safe-”

One gloved hand covered his and Len remembered his missing ring, the one he’d stashed in Mick’s pocket before Sara dragged him away. Before one hell of a nice goodbye kiss. Len looked up and saw Barry had taken off his mask as he’d been lost in his memories. He most certainly wasn’t the fresh-faced Barry Allen Len knew.

“Quite the silver fox look you got going, Barry. Gotta say, it works for you.”

The Scarlet Speedster shook his head at him, but were Len’s eyes deceiving him or did he look more fond than he normally would at Len’s flirting? “Calm down, everything’s fine. You saved them, _hell_ you saved the entire universe.” Len knew it was coming before Barry even finished smiling. “You were one of the greatest heroes throughout history. Even _I_ haven’t topped that yet, Len.”

“Oh stop. I didn’t do it-”

“-For the world, yes I know. You did it for Mick, and Lisa, and your team. The rest of the world just got lucky, right? You keep saying it, Len, but I’ll never get closer to believing it.”

Len flicked his gaze up and down this much older Barry. Just what was going on here? Casing their surroundings again he started to get a nagging feeling that this was familiar.

“We’re at the same spot we made our first deal.” Barry explained without prompting and Len’s gaze snapped back to him. “In fact, that deal was a little over two years ago at this point right now.”

The math there didn’t add up. “What game are you playing, Barry? You look a fair bit older than two years would give you.”

Barry gave him a cheeky smile that still managed to look boyish, “That’s because I’m from the future.”

With a helpful hand up, Len finally stood and started to realize that he was alive. Alive and _home_. “If you’re from so far in the future, why are we only two years after our deal?”

“Because it’s the earliest I could drop you off at. And well...I may need your help right now.”

That sounded ominous. “My help? For _what_ , exactly?” Had he only been saved because he was _useful_? That shouldn’t hurt as much as it did and Len fought to keep his cool. He shouldn’t have been surprised, Barry only ever went to him when he was desperate.

“You’re the best thief in _history_ , Len. And soon I’m going to need a bit of help that will require those amazing skills of yours.” Barry paused and seemed to debate with himself, “But that won’t be for another week. I didn’t want to drop you off right in the middle of a crisis. I know you hadn’t seen your sister in a while when...when everything happened. You should probably go tell her you’re alive.”

Len had to blink twice to swallow back the emotion that caused. Lisa...He could see his little sister again. He hadn’t even told her he was time traveling, he wondered what Mick would’ve told her when he told her he was gone. Because surely they must’ve by now, if this was 2017 he’d have been gone a year. He was brought out of his thoughts when Barry put a hand to his cheek and he almost tensed up. There was a tender look on the speedster’s face, an emotion that Len couldn’t quite name.

“Just...don’t go near STAR labs just yet. Or anywhere else you think I might be. Not until next week. I’m not the only me around, and if the other one finds you he’ll kill you.”

There were so many things wrong with that sentence. But he’d been a time traveler for a while now, so at least there was only one he really didn’t believe, “There’s no way you’d kill anybody, Flash. You’re too much of a hero.”

Such a well of sadness in those aged hazel eyes, practically a storm in there. “Oh, I wish that were the truth. But just like I see the light in you, Len, I’m sure you can see the darkness in me. We’re not all that different. Just a matter of...what pushes me over.”

“And what would push you over?” he barely whispered out, a sense of quiet covering them both. Barry took his hand away.

“The death of those I care about.” He said it so brokenly, that Len wondered just what had happened to this Barry in the years he so obviously lived. The next moment the mask was up, both physically and metaphorically. “Take care of yourself, Len. You got your freedom, so please don’t lose it.”

With that, Barry was gone in a flash, faster than Len had ever seen him go. Of course the annoying man had stranded him in the forest. Again. Somehow, Len couldn’t muster up anything more than an amused huff.

Lisa was pissed beyond all reckoning when she opened the door. He was a little surprised she was still in Central, to be honest. But after she’d slapped him hard enough to leave a mark, she tackled him in a hug so fierce he had to hide his tears in her shoulder. He politely ignored the sobs she was muffling into the shoulder of his coat.

The next week was filled with Lisa catching Len up on all that he’d missed, which apparently included the city being almost torn apart by metas from another earth sent by the black speedster, a female speedster was around for a bit, Scudder and Dillon poking their rotten heads up again, an alien invasion, something the Legends came back to help with, _another_ new speedster who is going by Kid Flash, an invasion by _killer gorillas_ oh and one of Barry’s friends, the icy doctor got a whole lot more interesting by developing ice powers and deciding to turn cape.

It took that entire week for Len to wrap his head around just how much had happened since he’d left on Rip’s ship. He didn’t leave the safehouse that Lisa was shacked up in much, and when Lisa inquired about if he was sticking around and actually going to _lead_ the Rogues or be the head of the Crime Families in Central, Len decided to pass. She was handling everything just fine so far as he could tell, even if they were mostly just laying low until the current crisis Flash was facing passed over.

“We did a couple jobs in the beginning, nothing too ambitious, just to keep the edge off but...then this guy Alchemy started kidnapping people and there were _more_ metas so...I made the decision to have everyone lay low.”

She seemed a bit nervous about the decision but Len would have none of it, “You made the right choice, Lise. Crew first. So who all stuck around as a Rogue after...all this crap. And you better not tell me Scudder and Dillon.”

“Well, Boo helps out sometimes, Axel, Trickster’s boy? He’s in prison right now but he seemed more reasonable than his old man, Mardon’s around though he was a little sour after you turned him down. Bivolo left town a month ago. And for your information, I stayed clear of those two. Pretty sure they’re in the meta-wing of Iron Heights last I heard.”

Len went over the list in his head but that still left one unaccounted for, “What about Rathaway?”

Lisa scowled in confusion, “Rathaway? The rich folk?”

“No, their son. Kicked out, had a beef against STAR, used these sonic gloves he made himself…?” Lisa just continued to look lost so Len resolved to do some digging on the young no-longer-heir to the Rathaway fortune. The day before the Flash who saved him told him to go looking for this time’s Barry, Len filled it with news reports. He didn’t have his cold gun, he’d given that to Sara before he’d told her to take Mick and leave, so he wasn’t entirely sure what he could do against the apparent new meta threat. The fact that there were other Earths, not just other timelines was something he thought Rip would’ve mentioned, then again there were a lot of things Rip didn’t mention.

He told himself that he was going to go help Barry because of the debt he owed him for saving him from the Oculus. Truth was...he was a bit adrift. With the Rogues in Lisa’s capable hands, Mick and the rest of the team still traveling time, Len didn’t have anything else. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to contact the team, though he figured he should eventually, if only to let Mick know he was alive.

First things first, repaying his debt to Barry. It was an odd mix of reassuring and disturbing that just waltzing into STAR labs was still possible. It had been years, hadn’t they upgraded their security yet? He felt bare without his cold gun, and without his parka as he’d felt it would almost be going backwards to wear it again. So he strolled into the Cortex with his hands in his pockets and a bit of bounce to his step to cover that he had no idea what he’d be walking into.

Traveling with the Legends at least made him get used to _that_ feeling, but it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t enjoy it. So instead of completely turning the corner, as soon as Len heard their voices he decided to wait and see just what they were dealing with.

“Yeah- Yeah if Lyla won’t let us have the Dominator tech, then we’re going to break into A.R.G.U.S and we’re going to steal it.” Hm, Flash. A _thief_ . There was something about that thought...and now he knew why future-Silver-Fox Barry said they’d need his help. It seemed the heroes were planning a _heist_. “Wally and I will phase through the walls. We’ll be in and out of there before anyone even gets off a shot.”

“Uh, hello? No, you won’t.” Ramon interrupted Barry’s confident statement. Then a voice that Len didn’t quite recognize but sounded awfully familiar spoke.

“What is that?”

“ _That_ is a meta-human power dampener, and it’s all over the building, so you can’t use your powers inside.”

A tired sounding Detective West was the next to speak, “Can we use anything else to power this Speed Force...gun?”

“Speed Force _Bazooka_.”

“Bazooka.”

“Nothing else. Manipulating extra-dimensional energy, requires, well, _ridiculous_ amount of energy. And the Dominator tech’s the only thing that can do that.” Extra-dimensional energy? Just what were they trying to achieve here?

“Yeah, I have an idea, gang. What if we just put you, put Iris, on a plane to Paris or somewhere far away?” Posed the unknown voice, but before he’d even finished his idea Barry was shooting it down.

“No, there’s nowhere on Earth that Savitar wouldn’t find her.” He’d never heard Barry so defeatist. “Guys, stealing this Dominators’ tech is our only option, all right?”

“Barry, A.R.G.U.S. is more secure than the Pentagon,” Began Iris and well, there wouldn’t be a more perfect opening than that.

“ _Pentagon_? Not as secure as you’d think.” Len interrupted as he finally turned the corner, “Of course I broke in in 1986, they might’ve changed security a bit since then. Not to say that this place isn’t even worse, really. You’d think you’d install an alarm in here.”

He rather enjoyed all their stunned faces, and ah- there was the unknown yet vaguely familiar voice, Dr Wells was here. Though he hardly looked at all like himself. “Hello Joe, Cisco, Iris, _Barry_.” Seeing Barry again, a Barry he was more familiar with, made him pause. The kid never could hide his emotions and they played a happy little jig across his face. He told himself it didn’t matter that the kid was surprised but happy to see him. “A little birdy told me that you’re in desperate need of a master thief, and...wouldn’t you know, I am one.”

“Captain Cold.” Cisco muttered in complete shock.

“In the flesh.”

“But- huh, aren’t you,” Wells seemed to ask the group, “Isn’t he-?”

It was almost adorable how he was trying to get around what they all thought they knew. “Dead? Thought so, for a... _bit_ there.” Len wasn’t sure how long exactly he’d been in the Oculus, part of it, part of time, and wondered for a second (an eternity) if it was even quantifiable. “But turns out that it’s much harder to kill me than everyone thought. _Cold_ will always come back around eventually. Incurable, that way.”

“So are the Legends with you?” Barry asked a little breathlessly, and flustered was such a good look on him.

“No. Got here on my own, been laying a bit low. Not sure I want to go skipping through time again so I figured I’d take a vacation.”

“And you decided to...help us during this ‘vacation’?” Cisco skeptically asked.

“What can I say? I’m a giver. And _really_ , Team Flash planning a heist of the most secure building in history, thus far, how could I resist? It’s my kind of mission.”

“You’re going to help us out of the goodness of your heart.” Joe sarcastically stated, “Now why do I have trouble believing that, after the _last time_ we teamed up with you?”

“You’re right. You shouldn’t trust me. But...let’s just say I’m repaying a debt and that I take those _quite_ seriously, and leave it at that?” Len was under no delusion that they wouldn’t eventually press the issue, but they seemed desperate enough at the moment to let it go.

~

Savitar paused in his repairs of his suit and conversation with Frost. He’d been reiterating just why he didn’t care for the sister of _Barry Allen_ , how he’d been born to be disposable and thrown away as less than a used napkin. Then new memories assaulted him and he put out a hand to his suit to stabilize himself.

“What is it?” Frost asked in concern.

“Snart...is back. _Well_ , that makes things interesting. He wants to help steal the power source from A.R.G.U.S.”

“Power source? For what?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Should I stop them?”

“No...I think I’ll make the trip myself.”

~

“My guess is that the power source is most likely- _here_.”

“Why there?”

“Because it’s the deepest part of the facility. And if it’s as valuable as you say it is, then the deepest recesses of _any_ facility are usually the most secure.”

“Mm. Smart Snart.” Cisco quipped and then chuckled at his own joke before stopping when no one else laughed with him. “I’m going to keep hacking away to find out for sure.” He excused himself which left Len alone in the lab room he’d claimed for this little planning session with Detective West, the lovely miss West, and Barry.

Naturally, Barry broke the silence in Cisco’s wake first, “Do you uh, have any idea what else might be down there?”

“Wouldn’t _you_ know more than me? Regardless, it doesn’t matter. There are only four rules you need to remember.” Len smirked at his audience and held out one hand, ticking off his fingers as he listed off the rules, “Make the plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to go off the rails. Throw away the plan.”

He barely kept his amusement to himself as Barry exchanged a confused look with his family. “Uh, that...doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“I thought all your crimes were _meticulously_ planned out before hand, down to the second?” Iris posed and oh he liked her. It really would be a shame if the day ended in her murder.

“After traveling with the Legends, _well_. None of them could stick to a plan if their lives depended on it, as it often did. I adapted. I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll be the same Barry, danger-prone as you are. Stick with me, and you’ll be fine.”

“I’m trusting you.” And Len saw that the kid meant it. Despite all the betrayals, all the bad blood between them, Barry still trusted him. Still _believed_ in him. It was...nice. Made him feel all warm and fuzzy. He’d never utter that out _loud_ of course.

“We all are.” Iris agreed, perhaps the most to lose of everyone here. And while she was who everyone else in this building was fighting for, Len couldn’t take his eyes off Barry.

~

Len left to give Barry a goodbye to his foster-sister as Detective West was taking her and his son someplace that Barry couldn’t know about. Because as it turns out, the person they were up against _was_ Barry. A _future_ Barry Allen, one all scarred and dark and ready to kill. Len still couldn’t quite believe it, even after hearing it from the current Team Flash as well as Silver-Fox Flash. Then again...losing your sister was something that Len could agree would probably set him on a very dark path, darker than the one he’d already tread.

Not to mention the added entanglement of ‘used to be in love with her’. The kid’s life was certainly complex and never boring. While he waited for everyone to get ready, he pinned down Cisco to have a chat. “Have you confirmed what I already know, Cisco?”

“Yes, okay the energy source is in the deepest part of the building. Which means you guys are going to have a hell of a time getting in there, what with Barry without his powers and you without your gun.”

Len gave the scientist a sly smirk, “Speaking of.”

Cisco looked up at him through his longer hair, “No.”

“I haven’t even asked nicely, yet.”

“We do _not_ have time for me to build you another cold-gun! What happened to the one you _already_ made me make, at gunpoint I might add, huh?”

He looked away with a shrug of his shoulders, “Left it to someone who I thought could need it more than I did at the time. What with my belief I was about to die, and all. Besides, I don’t want you to make a new one...I want the _original_.”

“You mean the first one you stole?”

“Like you said, it’ll be a hell of a time in there if we don’t have _something_.” Len knew he had him at the pensive look flashed across Cisco’s face. He grumbled and made a strangling motion with his hands, but Len wasn’t bothered. Cisco Ramon was one of the nicest people he’d ever met, as well as one of the smartest. He could do the math.

“Fine! But I want it back without a _scratch_ on it the moment this is over! I am not letting you keep hold of it _again_.”

Len gave the man a droll look, “Cisco. Be honest here, you’re not _really_ expecting me to hand it back over again are you?”

“A guy can dream, so don’t pop my bubble before I change my mind.”

Having the gun strapped to his thigh again made something click and Len let out a happy sigh. He just hadn’t felt quite complete without it within arms’ reach. Cisco was absolutely not getting it back after all this. When he made his way out of the cortex and towards the entrance of the building and ran into Barry looking determined and starting a timer on his watch, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s that for?”

“How much time we have.”

“Until what?”

“Until we lose.”

“Good thing I work very well under pressure.” Len smirked.

~

“You boys really dot the I’s and cross the T’s.” Len commented to cover the impressed look he knew was on his face. But then the guard asked Barry-disguised-as-Lyla the day’s word association and they hit a roadblock. Couldn’t really fake that. Len darted his gaze to see Barry looking torn as the guard repeated for them.

Watching Barry take down two armed guards while looking like a woman was certainly not something Len expected to ever see, but admitted to himself that he enjoyed. The kid’s plan to get inside A.R.G.U.S had been basic and Len wasn’t at all surprised that it hadn’t worked entirely, but really it wasn’t anything worse than what the Legends had come up with, and they did manage to get in. And he had to admit that he could certainly use someone with Cisco’s skills on _any_ mission, heist or otherwise.

“My, my, my. Getting rather violent in your young age.” Len smoothly drawled as Barry changed back to his natural look with the device he’d gotten from the man called HR. Who was and was not Dr Harrison Wells.

“Yeah, what were you doing?” Barry snapped back and waved a hand at the fact Len had just stood there, watching. With a smooth flick of his wrists, Len got out of his cuffs and held them up like a presentation.

“Magic. Tell me Scarlet, did you just want to try it this way because you’ve always wanted to see me in cuffs?”

“Maybe. And maybe you agreed to it because you like being in them.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Barry handed him back the cold gun and then they got directions from Cisco...who then changed his mind and told them to go the other way. Ah, this is what happens when you have less than ten hours to plan a break in. While walking down one of the many corridors, they heard a roar. A _roar_.

“Who’s Grodd?” Len asked as he saw the name on the panel outside a cell with medical readings on it as they passed.

“Telepathic gorilla. Spared his life on another Earth so he could invade Central City. It’s what mercy gets you.”

Len gave Barry a sharp look that the man didn’t see as he walked ahead. This wasn’t like the Barry he knew and...this Barry seemed to be almost desolate, beaten down by the harshness of the world that Len knew so well. Barry paused as they reached more cells, with the names Cheetah and Cupid on them that seemed to mean something to the speedster. “This must be where Waller kept her Suicide Squad.”

The more and more he learned today, the more he had questions. Lisa’s little Q&A sessions this past week apparently had a lot of _gaps_ in it. Len decided that he’d ask when they weren’t on the clock, because he would really like to know just all what was going on. Barry found the cell that it looked like was holding what they were looking for, and just as Barry was attempting to tell Cisco that they’d found it Len started to wonder...just why this tech would be in a cell much like the ones they’d just passed.

Barry had to move back out the hallway a bit in order to establish a connection strong enough to make out what Cisco was saying, which appeared to be a problem. Len moved closer to the panel and kept an ear open to what Barry was saying, but had to stifle his chuckle when Barry said the lock was the Montgomery 3000. As if it were a _bad_ thing.

By the time Barry turned around, Len was looking at his watch, “37 seconds. I must be out of practice.” He shot Barry a smile and thoroughly enjoyed the stunned look on the young man’s face. Really, just what had he expected? Len was a _master thief_.

“Well, A.R.G.U.S should ask for their money back.” Barry quipped as he joined Len in trying to pull up the heavy door. That was when what Len had noticed earlier caught up to him as he got a look through the door window.

“Wait! Make the plan. Execute the plan.” A shark creature lunged at the door and both of them dropped it and pressed flat against either side of the window.

“...Expect the plan to go off the rails.” Barry finished with a sigh. As the creature moved away from the door, so did they.

“Seen a lot of things. But a half-man, half-shark takes the cake.” Len whispered as they crouched down across from each other.

“I can’t believe A.R.G.U.S turned King Shark into a guard dog.”

Len scoffed, “King Shark. That’s adorable.” Barry looked at him wildly and Len knew whatever was about to come out of the man’s mouth, he wasn’t going to like.

“Give me your Cold Gun.” Yeah, no. Not happening.

“So you can do what exactly?” Barry couldn’t keep eye contact with him and that’s when he knew things were going south.

“Len, there’s only one way that tech’s getting out of here.” If the situation were a little less dire, Len might have commented that Barry finally stopped calling him Snart. As it was, Len was this close to growling.

“You think because _I’m_ the one you’re partnered with here that I won’t mind if you get all _murdery_? Who was it that told me I was good enough to do what I do without killing anyone, again?”

“I told you what I’m up against, all right?” Barry held out his hand with an imploring look and continued when all Len did was stare. “Give me the gun.”

There was no way Len was letting the kid become a cold blooded killer on his watch. Len paused, that gave him an idea. He handed over the gun wordlessly and Barry stood after turning it on and taking aim. He ordered Len to open the door, and then again when Len didn’t move.

“Have you seen _Shark Week_ , Barry? Me, I can’t get enough of it. Good thing the Waverider had cable.” Barry ducked back down to his level when King Shark turned around and gave a snarl.

“What’s your point?”

Len smirked, the kid didn’t really want to do this, so he knew all he had to do was reel Barry in to his way of doing this. “Most sharks are cold-blooded, but the great white shark, like our friend in there, is partially _warm-blooded_.”

“He’s susceptible to cold…” Barry realized.

“Never strays into water colder than 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If we lower the temperature in that room to 53.5 degrees, King Shark should fall asleep like a little baby.” Len stopped for dramatic pause as Barry nodded slightly looking considering. “Or, you can go ahead and kill him and prove what a _badass_ you are,” Len continued with mild scorn. “Your choice.”

Barry looked at him with something that Len could only label as respect and slight shame in his eyes as he handed the Cold Gun back to him. Wordlessly, Len took out the core of the gun and showed it to Barry. “Throw away the plan.”

The two of them watched as King Shark snarled for a bit as the cold seeped into the room from the core and then promptly collapsed. With a casual jab from Len’s elbow, the wires from the panel sparked and the door lifted for them. “By all means, you first.” Len waved a hand before him and Barry gave him a side-eye.

“...Thanks.” Len let the kid think it was because Barry could heal faster that he wanted him in front of him. Truth was, Len just liked the _view_. Even without the normally deliciously tight (if ridiculous) Flash suit of his.

As they crept into the room, King Shark let out a snarling-snore that made them both freeze. “Reminds me of Jaws.” Len whispered to keep himself focused, “They didn’t show the shark because they couldn’t afford to make it look good.”

After a near heart stopping moment when they saw the dorsal fin rise up from the fog the Cold Gun’s core had made in the room, Barry glanced back at him, “How long do you think he’ll stay asleep?”

Len gave him look, “I like _Shark Week_. I’m not a marine biologist.”

They managed to get to the alien tech without King Shark waking, but the moment that Barry took the power source from the alien device, an alarm sounded and the door started to close. Barry let out a panicked “Move!” and they both dashed to the rapidly closing door.

Barry slid under it just as it closed and Len nearly ran into the solid metal. With a jolt Barry slammed the door now separating them, “Len!”

Looking over his shoulder in panic Len turned to him with an urging tone, “Barry! This place is going to be _crawling_ with A.R.G.U.S agents in the next two minutes.” He stated as Barry shook his head. If Barry didn’t make it out of this because of _him_ … “Look on the bright side, Barry. This is your chance to show how ruthless you really are. Sometimes, you’ve got to make a _tough call_ , Barry.” Len softened his voice at the end, watching as Barry was starting to really panic. If he stuck around, he’d never get out of the building in time to save his sister. If he stuck around...he’d have to watch Len get shredded by a half-shark half-man creature. The man had a bleeding heart, he’d never forgive himself for either, and Len wasn’t about to make him. Still...Len could admit now that it hurt to watch Barry nod and leave him.

Had Silver-Fox Barry only saved him from the Oculus just to have him die _here_ ? Was that what he’d meant when he’d said that he had darkness in him just as Len did? If that was true, then it was monumentally cruel to have dropped him off a week before he was going to die again. Getting to see Lisa and telling her he was alive just before making the whole trip worthless anyway. He didn’t think Barry had that much _coldness_ in him.

Seeing Barry turn back and walk towards him snapped him out of his sinking heart, and Len couldn’t hide the plain relief on his face as Barry told him, “Cisco’s working on it.” The relief vanished when Barry paled and looked over his shoulder, “Whatever you do, don’t look behind you.”

Naturally Len spun on his heel just in time to see King Shark getting to his feet. With dawning horror, Len attempted to lighten what was sure to be a grisley next few moments. “If Cisco saves my life, tell him I’ll...put in a good word with my sister.”

Seconds that seemed like another eternity ticked by, and then the door started to lift behind him and Len dropped to the ground, Barry’s hurried, “Come on, come on, come on!” ringing in his ears as he crawled through the gap as soon as it was large enough.

Just before he was clear, he felt King Shark grab his leg and start to drag him back in. Barry lunged forward, grabbing his arms, “I got you!”

“ _Barry_!” Len shouted as Barry continued to repeat himself, pulling with all his might as Len was turned into a tug of rope. His leg still wasn’t clear of the door, but in that moment Len didn’t even care as Barry shouted into his comms.

“Slam the door, Cisco, _now_! Close it!” Not even a full second after Len completely made it across the door slid shut, severing King Shark’s hand that had still had a hold of Len. Breathing heavy and high on adrenaline Len stared at the bloody hand.

“ _Ouch_. Been there.” He commiserated. Len heard Barry panting beside him and when he turned to look at the man he felt two warm hands cup his face and pull him in for a kiss. Shock of an entirely different kind rushed through him, but before he could get his mind moving again the frankly fantastic kiss ended and Barry stood up, still out of breath.

“Okay. We should get out of here.” Barry muttered and Len distantly heard King Shark angrily shout Flash. Unfortunately just as Len made it to his feet, they heard the telltale sound of multiple guns cocking.

“Lyla…” Barry awkwardly greeted the very pissed looking woman before them.

“Barry.”

~

Len watched Barry as Director Michaels gave him a stern dressing down, his mind still on the surprise kiss Barry had given him. The man hadn’t looked him completely in the eye since. “To save Iris’s life, yeah. I’ll do anything.” Barry half looked at Len before swiftly turning his attention back to Lyla. The Director’s face softened.

“Not anything.” At Barry’s confused look, she elaborated, “I saw the whole thing on the security monitors.” Her eyes met Len’s, “You could have left Snart to die. But you risked your freedom and Iris’s life to save him.”

Privately Len wondered about that himself, and then wondered if the woman had seen what happened directly _after_ that moment as well. Barry sighed but before he could try another approach, Lyla held out her hand holding the power source. Stunned, Barry hesitantly took it. “You’re just going to let me have it?”

“I couldn’t let Iris die, knowing that could save her. And I know you’d do the same thing for me if it were John’s life on the line.”

“Thank you.” Barry said through a closed up throat, his relief palpable, and Len shared another look with Lyla. She pulled herself together back into her professional facade.

“Now go. Do it. And get this guy back to wherever he belongs.” Len was quietly surprised she was not only going to give Barry the thing he needed, but allow _him_ to walk as well. But he wasn’t one to look gift horses in the mouth.

“Took the words right out of my mouth.” Len couldn’t stop the once over he did of Barry’s face as he said it, and was rewarded with the light blush that colored the speedster’s face at his tone.

As they headed back towards STAR labs and where Len had parked his motorcycle, Barry decided to ask, “Did you think I had it in me? To leave you behind?”

He thought hard about his answer. “Know you have the potential to be as ruthless as they come. Your history made sure of that, same as mine. We aren’t so different, Barry.” Len thought of the conversation he had with the future-Barry, the one _not_ currently trying to kill everyone. “Maybe that’s why I like you. We see the good and bad in each other.”

Len spun abruptly on his heel which resulted in being right in Barry’s face. Barry’s mumbled maybe was interrupted by Len bringing a hand to Barry’s cheek. “Piece of advice. Stop trying to beat Savitar at his own game. Your _goodness_...is your strength.”

Barry was holding his breath, staring into his eyes and Len took a chance, pulling him down into another kiss. This one was slower, less frenzied than the one Barry had given him outside the cell. Len set the pace to make the man calm down, to _chill_ for a moment. When he released him and opened his eyes he spoke against Barry’s now red-kissed lips, “Call me sentimental...but I prefer you as a hero.”

With a smile that shone like the sun, Barry dashed off into STAR and Len watched him. He hoped for all the best, and wondered what he should do now. He wasn’t more than a few minutes from home when he felt a displacement in the air and something tingling in his head.

Next thing he knew, he was in a darkened warehouse chained up to a support beam. Standing before him was an intimidating figure, all metal and sharp edges and glowing blue eyes. After taking a breath, Len made a guess, “Savitar, am I right? Like the new color scheme, should I be flattered?”

There was a hiss as the suit knelt down and a smaller figure stood up from the bulky mass. It was Barry, which Len expected but what surprised him was that this Barry didn’t look much older than the current one. Just how fast did he fall? “Snart. Gotta say, it’s a surprise to see you. And not much surprises me anymore.”

“Well, life’s all about those little surprises, isn’t it.” Len quipped with a smirk. The cruel smile that graced that scarred up face sent an unpleasant chill down his spine. Savitar stepped close to him, reminding Len of just a moment ago. He wondered if this man remembered it.

“You know...I have to say that you’re just _full_ of surprises, Snart. Unfortunately, I can’t tolerate surprises tonight. So you’re going to have to... _chill_ here for a while.”

“Gee, I’d _love_ to. But I promised I’d be home by midnight and I don’t want my motorcycle to turn into a pumpkin.” Len drawled as he stared into those ice cold eyes. That cruel smile widened into a grin.

“That _wasn’t_ a request.”

“I’d listen if I were you, Snart.” A new voice echoed from behind him. Len looked over his shoulder and saw Doctor Caitlin Snow, or at least someone with her general appearance as this one was practically frosted over and wearing blue leather.

“ _Love_ the new look, doc. Very _cool_. Bit envious by how well you pull off the blue leather look, where’d you get your jacket?”

“Enough talk. How did you get here, Snart? How’d you survive an explosion of time itself?” Savitar demanded, looking as if he were done playing games. Which was a shame because Len loved playing games with Barry. And he really did want to know where Caitlin got her jacket.

“I’m sorry, did you want me to answer that, you said enough talk so I assumed those were _rhetorical_ questions.” The knee to the gut shouldn’t have been a shock but it still knocked the wind out of him. If he hadn’t been tied to the support beam he might’ve even fallen to his knees, the speedster must’ve used a bit of his speed to make the impact worse.

“Talk.”

“Ohh don’t go all monosyllable on me, Barry. You don’t have quite the baritone for it to be intimidating.” A firm hand grabbed his jaw and made him look up into a scarred face. The grip was enough to bruise, and Len wasn’t looking forward to what that’d look like later.

The speedster leaned closer until Len could feel the breath from his nose fanning over his face and had to squint his eyes, but he refused to look away. To let himself be intimidated by this version of the speedster. When he spoke the man’s voice was a quiet and dangerous hiss, “That’s not my name... _Snart_.”

After a pause that was filled with tension, Savitar moved back and gave him a considering look, “Do you even know why this is all happening? Why did you choose to help _Barry Allen_ ? You have absolutely _nothing_ to gain.”

Snow moved forward and stood a little to Savitar’s left, keeping an eye on him as the dark speedster continued, “With me however...I’m about to ascend into Godhood within the hour. Killer Frost is joining me...you could as well.” He raised one arm and held out his hand.

Len stared at the two of them, these shattered mirror versions of Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow. He couldn’t help but laugh, “Wow. I’ve met a lot of crazy, but that...is a class of its own.” His blue eyes pinned them both as he sneered, “I’ll _pass_.”

Savitar slowly lowered his offered hand with a look of mild disappointment. “Then you’ll die.” Savitar turned and with a flash of lightning had his suit hanging up and he began to work on it. “Frost, freeze him there won’t you?” The scarred part of Savitar’s face turned towards them over his shoulder, “Wouldn’t it be ironic to have Captain Cold die slowly of frostbite?”

Next moment had Len cry out before he could stop himself as a solid block of ice formed at his feet and slowly started to creep up his legs. He knew he’d have five to ten minutes if the ice got to his core before he’d die. Killer Frost gave him frosty smile, her voice echoing as she taunted him, “Only room for one God of Ice. Too bad it’s not _you_.”

With that the two of them completely ignored him as the ice continued to turn him numb and Len felt a pang of sympathy for all the times he’d frozen Barry’s legs. Only his wouldn’t be able to heal like the speedster’s. It was then that he finally noticed that on the other side of the warehouse was Iris, tied up and sitting on the floor. Savitar and Frost between them, he wasn’t sure if she could see him or even heard their little conversation.

But he did see HR sneak his way in and over to her before either of their captors. That didn’t last long as whatever HR had been holding flew from his hands and attached itself to Savitar’s suit, alerting them to their escape. It also caused the two of them to have eye contact with Len, who shook his head at their startled look. Savitar sent Frost after them as they ran and chose to stay himself. “What’s the m-matter, Savitar? N-not going to get them your-yourself?” Len hated that he’d started to shiver but couldn’t do anything about it.

“Frost can handle them both fine. I don’t need to do anything.” Savitar held this attitude even as Frost came back with only Iris. Miss West didn’t look to be in complete distress, so that probably meant HR was still alive. She probably offered herself to save him, the martyrdom in that family was ridiculous.

Iris was brought over to his side this time, tied up once more not far from where Len was frozen. He gave her a ‘you tried’ look and she offered a quirk of her lips in return. It wasn’t long before the three of them left the warehouse and Len was alone.

Normally, he’d have picked the lock on the chains by this point, but something was nagging in his head telling him not to leave just yet. He was mad at himself for not even attempting when Savitar returned with Frost and Cisco not long later. Cisco was laughing and Savitar looked pissed but still in control, Frost however was looking concerned. “You better have a plan B!” Cisco chuckled at them, “Cause I don’t think your Plan A worked out too well.”

“W-welcome back. Party not go the way you wa-wanted it?” Len mocked and drew their attention. Cisco stopped his laughing and looked at him in surprise.

“You still alive there, Snart?” Savitar asked as he slammed down a large gun looking thing on the table. Cisco pulled himself to his feet and Frost circled them.

“ _Snart_? What’re you doing here?” Cisco asked as he walked over to him before Frost got in his way and herded the scientist over towards the table. Len gave him a look.

“I’m just chilling around. The real question is what _you’re_ here for.” They all turned to Savitar who still looked insufferably sure of himself.

“Fix this.” He demanded coolly and Cisco scoffed.

“Fix what? The Speedforce Bazooka?” At Len’s look Cisco raised his hands, “Hey I didn’t name it. And if I didn’t _name_ it, I didn’t make it. If I didn’t _make_ it...I don’t know how it works.”

That didn’t seem to bother Savitar. “You know enough about it to alter what it does.”

“Oh you want me to alter it. What do you want, a hair-dryer? Waffle-maker? Oh, I know. Maybe something that’s going to fix that thin-crust pizza you call a face.” Cisco bravely taunted and Len didn’t hide his amused smile.

“An intra-dimensional quantum splicer.” Savitar calmly told him.

Cisco’s mocking abruptly stopped. “A splicer?”

“I _do_ have a plan B.” Savitar glanced over at Len, “And you even confirmed for me that it’s possible.”

“For the laymen h-here, explain what it is you’re t-talking about?” Len asked as he subtly tried to pick the lock on the chains, the nagging feeling of about-to-be-wrongness was getting stronger and was starting to give him a headache. If he didn’t pick himself out of it now he might not have the concentration to later.

“I open a time portal, exposing the Speed Force. Cisco shoots me with that, and I become fragmented throughout all of time. The past, present, future. After that, the paradox can’t reach me.” Savitar finished with a twisted smile on his face.

Cisco looked skeptical, “You want to _splice yourself_ throughout time? Exist in every single moment there ever was.”

“All of us aware and connected through one consciousness. I’ll be _everywhere_. Every hour, every minute. And then I will rule from the Big Bang until the end of the world.”

“Sounds like a _lot_ of work.” Len chipped in with a drawl, “You sure you want the headache?” Because boy was it a painful headache. As Savitar talked more and more it was getting stronger and Len had a feeling that Time wasn’t too keen on this plan B. In fact, the longer that Len looked at Savitar the more a sense of wrong washed over him.

“I’m going to be a God. I can handle the workload.” Savitar snapped at him before turning back to Cisco and telling him just why he’d let them all live for so long, why he’d allowed Barry and Len to steal the Dominator tech and use it to build the Speedforce gun.

It felt an awful lot like when the Time Masters used the Oculus to play everyone like puppets and it chaffed. He’d cut those strings and he’d be _damned_ if he let someone else attach new ones. As the two of them spoke Len noticed Frost walk off. Not for the first time he wondered what Savitar had told the woman to convince her to help him.

“ _Get_ to _work_ , Francisco.” At the cold tone Len’s attention was snapped back to the two of them.

Cisco stared down the man and slowly walked around the table. “How about I sit on my ass and let you obliterate permanently from existence. How’s that sound?” Len had to admit he was impressed, it seemed the young man had really come a long way since Len had first kidnapped him to get Barry’s name.

Savitar huffed a laugh and held up one hand, vibrating it until it was just a blur. Len hadn’t realized speedsters could do that, but from the look that flashed across Cisco’s face he knew exactly what Savitar planned. “That’s your plan? Do it or you’ll Reverse-Flash me?”

“Not _you_ .” Savitar mock pouted and turned his gaze to where Frost was working. Len saw the blood drain from Cisco’s face. “Her,” he whispered. He put a hand to his head and then continued, “You know what I’m remembering? Julian just got back to STAR labs...he has the cure. He can turn her back. You can have her back, you’re _so close._ But not if she’s dead.”

Cisco looked back at him with panic and Len knew the kid would fold. “So use that mechanical genius. Make me what I need. And I will let you all go.”

God help them, but Len didn’t believe a word.

~

Just when Len stopped feeling his legs from the cold, Savitar dashed off again after an order for Cisco and Frost to keep working. He had no idea where he was going now, but it seemed as good a time as any to finally get these chains off him.

They fell to the floor with a clatter and both Cisco and Frost’s attention snapped to him. “Well, kids I d-don’t know about you but I’m ready t-to be gone.”

Frost’s hands started to emit a wave of ice, “You’re not going anywhere Cold.” Cisco turned and tried to talk her down as Len grabbed a wrench and started chipping away at the ice holding him up.

“Savitar’s going to turn on you one day.”

Frost looked amused but sure of her answer, “No he won’t.”

“A bad guy like Savitar always turns on his partner.” Cisco insisted.

“Not this time.”

“Wake up!” Cisco shouted, “You’re only saying that because he needs something from you. Once he’s done with that, it’s over for you. For all of us.”

“Listen to him Frosty. I heard it w-with my own ears, he’ll _ice_ you once this is over.” Len finally broke the ice encasing his legs, and Cisco dashed over to help hold him up before he collapsed. But before the stalemate could go either way, Savitar returned looking annoyed.

“How’d it go?” Frost asked, still holding her arms up and attack ready.

“Just as I expected. I was a fool to think otherwise. We ready?” At Frost’s nod Savitar looked at Len and Cisco then turned away to inspect the gun, “Then do it.”

“Caitlin. Listen to me. He’ll do it. He’ll kill you.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

A portal opened just large enough to stop the ice from reaching them, and a woman that Cisco called Gypsy appeared and tackled them through another portal, taking them to some stairs that Len promptly fell down. He was in agony and still couldn’t feel his legs as the two of them started to quarrel.

“I _hate_ to interrupt this touching moment, but would you both _shut up and help me up_ ?” Len snarled at them, “Or at least save the bickering until you’re _not_ standing on my leg that I can’t feel?”

That was when Iris’s voice broke their awkward quiet and the three of them looked over to find themselves in what Len assumed was Barry’s apartment. Team Flash, short Frost, was all there and rushed over to them. Len was helped to the couch where he could finally relax his tense muscles, though he was still deeply concerned that he couldn’t feel his legs _still_. Not even a tingle.

Cisco admitted to knowing what Savitar was planning, and told them about the change he’d made to the gun. They didn’t have much time left, and with everyone set to go beyond him Len took his gun from his thigh holster and held it out to Barry. “Take it. I can’t go with you, but at least you’ll have a bit of Cold on your side.”

It hardly felt like only a few hours ago he’d shared a kiss with the speedster outside STAR labs but when Barry looked at him Len felt like it was only a second ago. The emotion in those hazel eyes told Len that if they’d been alone, he likely would’ve gotten another kiss. “Thank you, Len.”

“Go. Be a hero, Barry. I’ll still be here when you get back.” Len motioned to his still numb legs with a wry smile, which Barry shared. In a moment faster than lightning, Len felt a soft pressure on his cheek that he knew was a speed-by kiss as Barry took the gun and the Team left to go face Savitar.

~

When they returned, Len could feel his thighs again, but everything from his knee down was still numb and he was starting to believe it’d stay that way. That is until Barry and Iris spoke of a Gideon in the Time Vault in STAR labs, because of _course_ they had a Time Vault. On a hunch, Len asked to see it and was filled with relief when Gideon recognized him.

Being held up by Barry and Cisco on either side of him, he was the only one not surprised when a panel in one of the walls of the vault lifted to reveal a small room, a closet really, but one that held a very familiar chair.

“I didn’t even know this room was here! Just what else is Gideon hiding?” Cisco muttered to himself as he looked around while Barry helped Len onto the chair.

“Mister Snart how is it you’ve managed to get even _worse_ frostbite than when you shattered your own arm?” Gideon cheekily asked as she started to heal the nerve endings in his legs.

Barry and Cisco stared at him, “You did what?”

Len held up his right arm, “Good as new, isn’t it? Had to ice myself to get out of some really sophisticated cuffs a while back. Don’t recommend.”

Cisco was the one who spoke up first as Barry still had an adorable shocked look on his face, “ _Dude_. How is it your life is more dangerous than ours? We go up against a new meta like every week.”

“Time travel is a risky business. And of course, chasing after an immortal psychopath.”

When Gideon was done, Len was more than pleased to stand on his own two feet again. Cisco left to go tell Harry about their newest resource, but Barry stuck around as Len did a few experimental jumps on his toes to make sure everything was in working order. Once he was done he turned and spoke to Gideon, who was projecting herself on a screen.

“Could you let Mick know I’m...alive?”

“When would you like me to tell him?”

“Whenever you think’s the best time.” Gideon nodded before flicking off and Len turned to face Barry who was smiling at him. “Looks like I’m sticking around until then, Scarlet.”

“Good to have you back, Len.” Barry looked outright jubilant and Len couldn’t help but prowl a little closer and looking at the man from the corner of his eye.

“I’m not so sure you’ll still feel that way when I get bored. As it is...I’m starting to feel _restless_.”

“Well I know a good cure for boredom.” Barry offered with a smirk, “Join me.”

Len gave him a disbelieving look and drawled, “I already played anti-hero with the Legends. What makes you think I want to try it with Team Flash?”

Barry took a step forward, “Because you came to help me. Because deep down, I know you’re a good person.”

“Barry, I’m selfish. I take what I want and I don’t let anything stop me.” Len felt like he was a broken record, repeatedly informing Barry just what kind of person he was. The thing he’d helped Barry with was being a _master thief_ and stealing from a government facility for god sake. And yet...every time that Barry reiterated that he believed in the good in Len...Len started to believe in it too.

It was what had inspired him during his time with the Legends.

It was what held him together when he’d fractured apart in Time.

“You keep saying that, but I’ll never believe you.” Barry muttered as he brought a gentle hand to Len’s neck. A spark of something flashed through Len’s mind, and the next moment he pulled Barry in for a kiss, deeper than either of the ones they’d shared before. Without the pressure of impending danger, they had _time_.

They had all the time in the universe.


End file.
